California Zephyr
| Name | California Zephyr |
|---|---|
| Start | Emeryville (CA) |
| End | Chicago |
| Distance | 2,438 Miles |
| Duration | 51 Hours |
| Creation | 1949 by Chicago, Burlington & Quincy; Denver & Rio Grande Western; and Western Pacific |
August 19
Our hotel was right down the street from the train station, so we woke up early, got some coffee, and walked over. We knew from last night that the station was small, but it still seems so strange to have a terminal stop of one of the most popular routes be such a tiny station. The station itself is mostly under construction, so everyone waited outside essentially on the tracks.
Fewer than 100 people boarded the train here (perhaps indicative of why the station is so small) and most of them had sleeper cars (this is not indicative at all of the quality of our decision to ride 51 hours in coach), so we were able to get right on and get a seat together.
The Bay is still smokey today so we can’t see too much. Based on the day/night map, we should see the rest of California and most of Nevada before nightfall.
We slowly made our way from the Bay Area towards Sacramento and then climbed into the Sierra Nevada mountains. People say that it’s best to take the Zephyr from Chicago towards California, but I think seeing the mountains, valleys, and streams right away makes the trip immediately enjoyable (especially as the delays start to pile up).
Our trusty day/night map was right again! We spent the rest of the day traveling through Nevada from vegetated mountain valleys down to the bare desert. As the sun was setting, it felt very much like we were on the moon with nothing around us.
We went to bed around Elko, Nevada. I can’t seem to find my crash dummy/bug/alien sleeping face mask. It’s possible that I lost it on the train to Seattle, but I’m not convinced someone didn’t intentionally lose it to avoid being embarrased… This is Terri’s first night on the train, so hopefully she is able to sleep and won’t jump ship at the first stop of the morning!
Salt Lake City is the first stop in Utah, but it’s scheduled for 3 am. We’re passing on that and are just hoping to see some of Utah in daylight.
August 20
Well, we certainly saw Utah! As you will see from the much longer video, there was quite a bit of Utah to see. We both woke up in Salt Lake City from the commotion, but there wasn’t anything at the station. After sleeping for a bit longer (we left Salt Lake City around 4am), it was bright enough to start taking in the scenery.
The 1940’s dubbed the California Zephyr “the most talked about train in America”, and the route through Colorado certainly helped push it ahead. Starting out in Western Colorado, we drove past stunning mesas rising out of deserts and agricultural fields. We then followed the Colorado River into the Rocky Mountains and saw people fishing and whitewater rafting. Apparently the river has the nickname “Moon River” because people like to moon the passing train (so beware of that in the video!). As we climbed higher we saw more and more views of mountains, canyons, valleys, and plains. This video is also a long one because there was a perfect scene at every turn!
Now we are stuck in Denver waiting for the two engines to work out their communications issues. Once they resolve their issues, we’ll head out into the night for a … flatter … route to Chicago.
August 21
We woke up right outside of Omaha today: Terri saw the city itself while getting coffee, I just caught the last bit. However, Iowa’s borders with Nebraska and Illinois are defined by the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, so we got to see two major geographic features! (I also saw the Mississippi River near its origin in Minnesota, and we will be at the mouth of the river tomorrow in New Orleans.)
Personally, I like the ride through Iowa because it reminds me of driving to and from my undergrad in Colorado (and when driving, the hillier terrain of Iowa is a nice break from Kansas). The more “consistent” landscape of Iowa and Illinois (at least compared to Utah and Colorado) allowed me to pull out my little under-the-desk peddler to get in some exercise! (Terri took the opportunity to spread out more and snooze.)
We were a bit delayed getting into Chicago (though only by 2 hours, compared to horror stories of up to 6) and the weather wasn’t great, so we opted into a day pass at the fancy-people lounge. As fancy people (at least for the day) we were able to take REAL showers complete with towels!
With clean bodies and clean clothes, we got dinner for tonight and lunch for tomorrow and waited for our next train to board.
